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South America Backpacking Trip
  • Zach Henshall
  • Charlotte Fricker
  • Zach Henshall
  • Charlotte Fricker

South America Backpacking Trip

Our first backpacking trip. A few months touring the most spectacular locations of South and Central America! Les mer
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  • South America Backpacking Trip

    Torres Del Paine W Trek... Day 3

    28. november 2019, Chile ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

    Francés campsite to Mirador Británico view points and back down to our campsite for the night at Paine Grande (9-10 hours) . By far this was the hardest day but worth it for the views and scenery 😊👌 We started bright and early with breakfast and set off at 7.30am, hiking up towards the first view point at Británico, where we watched avalanches on the mountain side (we thought it was thunder ⚡ while camping the night before, pretty cool knowing it was actually avalanches! They don't really have thunder storms here) At the second and final view point we could see a full 360° of mountains, peaks, forests and the fluorescent lake that we had hiked from... So rewarding. After lunch here we headed back down the way we came on a long beautiful trek towards our final campsite Paine Grande, and literally stumbled in at around 5pm.... Check in and have a wine well done! ☺️ Loved how the scenery changed soo much on this day.Les mer

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  • South America Backpacking Trip

    Torres del Paine W trek Day 4

    29. november 2019, Chile ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    Today was our final day of trekking, and it was a big contrast in landscape from the beginning to end! Starting at 7.30am we set off through the windy, steep valleys with lots of ups and downs (alittle like Lord of the rings!) then reaching the Lago Grey with the beautiful icebergs / growlers (bergy bits! Technical terms for sure😁😂) and in the distance behind is the 2nd largest ice field in the world (not including the North or south Pole!) It stretches from Lago all the way up to O'Higgins (350km long wow!) as we sat by the waters edge we could here the icebergs cracking, we even touched one...and of course zach tried to skim some lol!Les mer

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  • South America Backpacking Trip
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    Biking in Bariloche

    4. desember 2019, Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    After doing the usual tourist circuit of Bariloche town centre (aka going round eating a ton of chocolate) we spent the next day cycling along the gorgeous lake Perito Moreno to a small, ex-swiss colonial village creatively named Colonia Suiza. There we tried the local dish curanto (meat and veg cooked in a fire pit of leaves, on the ground) and visited the famous Berlina brewery for a quick pint before heading back. The food and beer were lovely but the real highlight was the scenery. Bariloche is unimaginably beautiful, so much so that it doesn't even seem real. Looking forward to exploring more of this wonderful place!Les mer

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  • South America Backpacking Trip
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    Walking the Lakes

    5. desember 2019, Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Today we took it easy, and walked from the llao llao hotel (which looked like a beautiful place to stay... Fit for a king) and after missing a few buses (not our fault, as bus stops don't seem to exist on one side of the road, they do of course but they're imaginary, so could be anywhere... we were told stand near a white gate and one will appear, but it has to be the right gate of course! 🤣) Anyway this can be forgiven as you get to enjoy the beautiful views from where ever you are in Bariloche (not so much the town centre, except for all the chocolate shops yum 😋). We did a 10 mile walk all in all, stopping at gobsmacking view points along the way, including a 1 hour forest walk around the lake and a relaxing break at playa de los truncos (or beach of the trees).Les mer

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  • South America Backpacking Trip

    Patagonia Brewery & Punto Panorámico

    6. desember 2019, Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    After an unexpected 10 mile hike the day before, we decided to actually take it easy this time and succeeded greatly! We began by taking the bus up to Punto Panorámico to enjoy a glorious viewpoint of llao llao and the surrounding lakes. The view stretched all the way to the Andes and was (as we've become accustomed to in Bariloche) absolutely stunning. When we tired of drinking in the view we headed downhill to drink in some beers. We stopped at the Patagonia brewery for a craft beer brewed right there in the mountains. The beer garden at the back looked straight out over the lakes. Got to be the best place we've ever sunk a pint.Les mer

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  • South America Backpacking Trip

    Bariloche Centre 'Feliz Navidad'

    6. desember 2019, Argentina ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Snap shots of the centre of Bariloche from its amazing views from the waters edge all the way to the Andes mountains. Wooden shops and houses all getting ready for Christmas with twee decorations... 'Feliz Navidad' greeting! But most importantly, which always drew us to the centre, was the amazing chocolate shops, full of truffles, dulce de leche and ice creams 😍❄️👌🍨Les mer

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    Paddleboarding at Bahía Serena Beach

    7. desember 2019, Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Today we had a try at paddleboarding with our teach 'Tincho'.. what a dude lol 😂 🤙🤙he was a really good teacher and guided us from knee standing to full on standing on a board (not really that hard... Only if your trying to get your balance in the middle of the board whilst standing... Be warned you will fall off into the freezing cold water and lose your prescription sunglasses because you're distracted by how cold it is!.. P. S always tie your glasses to your face so this doesn't happen!! 😆 ) anyway, all in all it was a truly awesome day, learning to do something new... True pisces. Have to say zach was amazing at this straight away, so he was away cruising the water, while I had Tincho with eyes in the back of his head 👀 reminding me how to paddle, stand and not fall off 😅🤣Les mer

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  • South America Backpacking Trip

    Kayaking to Isla Huemul pt1

    8. desember 2019, Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    What better way to spend a day than to kayak down the coast of Bariloche for almost 6km to an island that hosts the ruins of a failed nuclear fusion experiment? None that I can think of. So that's what we did. The owner of the hostel we were staying at kindly (or recklessly) loaned his kayak to us for the day so we could paddle out to the infamous Isla Huemul. We'd heard lots of rumours from the locals about the island; that there were hundreds of secret bunkers hidden beneath the surface or that it was a super top secret nazi program to create a nuclear bomb. Turns out it was actually the remains of Ronald Richters failed "Thermotron" fusion experiment, and a monument to the gullibility of Juan Perón. Basically in the early 50s Richter promised Perón he could make a fusion reactor. Eventually Richter realised he couldn't, but not before they'd built a whole complex and told the world that they already had fusion energy. Whoops. Nevertheless it was an adventure to get there and an interesting piece of history to investigate...Les mer

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  • South America Backpacking Trip

    Kayaking to Isla Huemul pt2

    8. desember 2019, Argentina ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    ... But Isla Huemul isn't all ruins and empty promises of fusion reactors. There's also a really nice pier, amazing views and crystal clear water. After looking round the ruins we spent a little time sunning ourselves and jumping off the pier into the icy cold lake waters before heading back. The return journey was a little choppy and a bit nerve wracking but we made it back no probs. Felt it the next day though! 💪😵Les mer

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  • South America Backpacking Trip

    Mendoza Wine & Olive Oil Tour pt1

    11. desember 2019, Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    After our long 17.5hr bus journey from Bariloche to Mendoza we are finally in the wine capital of Argentina! We arrived at 7am so had time for breakfast at our new digs, before booking a wine tour to the valley of Luján de Cuyo, on this tour we visited the Roberto Bonfanti bodega which is a small family run vineyard that specialises in boutique wines. The owner talked to us in Spanish (not helpful, but our helpful tour guide was at hand to translate lol 😂) about the process they use... Then the most important part of trying their wines!! We tried 3 different wines; Single Malbec (screw top aka cheaper wine) then the reserva Malbec and also (which was my favourite as its white) the chardonnay.... It was amazing, so we bought some of course! Next we toured a bigger wine producer in the same area; Dante Robino which produces Malbecs, whites but also lots of sparkling wines too ( yum😋)! The last place we visited was the olive oil producers of Laur, they are the 4th largest producers of olive oil in the world, plus no.1 in South America! Their olive oil and balsamics were lovely too.Les mer

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    Horse Riding at Sunset & BBQ at Ranch

    12. desember 2019, Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today we had a walk around Mendoza centre, it's a big place! We stuck to a small route that took us past alot of Plazas where people where chilling with picnics, mate and wine 🍷 (mate as in the tea drink) but also with their mates 👍 We stopped off for lunch with buskers playing, while we people watched for a few hours. Around tea time we headed off to the ranch with Franco (our tour guide and also part time DJ) the ranch was based in Luján de Cuyo on one of the many vineyards, part owned by Francos company where they also kept the horses. We got partnered up with the horses, me with 'Salchicha' (meaning Sausage in English, he was a fast horse but seemed to have a angry grudge against Franco or his horse 😂 his ears went down everytime they approached and wasn't happy them passing us! No idea why! 😳 😂). Zach was partned with 'Rostillo' he was a slow horse for sure, and only sped up when he saw Franco looking at him haha, but he was the most experienced horse of the bunch 😂 After a short lesson we headed off to the hills overlooking the Andes mountains, Franco leading us. I was a beautiful trek that took an hour to the top, over rocky landscape, with cacti 🌵 everywhere! We reached the top just before sunset to watch the sun disappear behind the Andes, then we headed back down for a well deserved late night BBQ with alot of meat (best steak ever, I'm not a steak person but it was amazing 😋) wine and fruits for after. We even got a view of the last full moon of the year. After some good socialising, getting to know our small group we headed back to out hostel around 11.30. Best trip here so far!Les mer

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  • South America Backpacking Trip

    Cacheuta Thermal Spa

    13. desember 2019, Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today we spent a day relaxing in the far out thermal waters of the Andes mountains, within one of valleys were different levels of Thermal pools, from cold to hot and with a lazy river on the bottom tier. We had to catch a bus here from the centre of Mendoza which took around an hour. We missed the first bus so had some waiting to do, so grabbed 2nd breakfast at a market cafe around the corner... It goes without saying cake was on the menu and we had it... Yes dulce de leche as always! (might have to go on a diet soon with all this cake).
    After we spent the day lazying around at the pools, we grabbed abit of something to eat at a BBQ place near the spa. As the guy assumed we spoke Spanish after zach asked briefly in Spanish about the menu offers, we had apparently ordered food and drinks! We weren't quite sure what we'd get though... 😂🤔🙄😳 But turns out we ordered fried eggs with chips, some spreadable cheese and topped with chopped warmed hotdogs! 😂 Ermmm yes healthy, they love all the beige foods here! Not to worry we had food back at the hostel too.    Les mer

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  • South America Backpacking Trip

    San Martín Park in Mendoza City

    14. desember 2019, Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today we just spent a day walking around the parks and getting to know the city a little more, the main park reminded me a little of Central Park in NY, but on a much smaller scale, with dedicated running, walking and cycling paths, and a lake in the middle (which didn't seem to be used for any water sports!) it also had a mini sports centre within it and basketball courts. We had a play on the outdoor exercise equipment, which wasn't a great idea in the desert heat lol 😂Les mer

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  • South America Backpacking Trip

    Maipú Bike Wine Tour

    16. desember 2019, Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    So today we took our chances on a self guided tour of the wineries within Maipú (about a 30min train ride from the centre) and needs to be said we had the good company of another traveller, who was the total wine snob, so worked out well lol... Well mostly! 😂 🤣😳 Maipú is one of the main 3 areas in Mendoza (Uco & Luján de cuyo being the other 2) Maipú has around 400ish vineyards just in this one area, so we decided 4 vineyards were managable for the day 😉 with the 18km bike ride round trip the scenery was beautiful. We started the tour with just free wine stop at a local wine shop... Why not, then carried on to each of the vineyards, consisting of family run, larger wine suppliers and young vineyards. So by the end of the day we were feeling a bit merry, we thought we could cycle back to the bike shop in 30mins! (9km ride). It was actually our travel friend who convinced us it was a good idea, as he is an advanced cyclist who had travelled all the way from Canada on his bike... So he was fine for him! 🤣😂). Anyway after peddling for our lives, we finally made it back.. And finished with another glass of Malbec 🍷😊Les mer

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  • South America Backpacking Trip

    Mendoza to Santiago

    17. desember 2019, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Today we travelled to Santiago from Mendoza on the bus for 8hrs, the scenery was beautiful, through the Andes mountains and desert landscapes... The journey went soo quickly, we're now in Santiago for 1 night before our flight to Lima (Perú) tomorrowLes mer

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  • South America Backpacking Trip

    Santiago Short Stay!

    18. desember 2019, Chile ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Our stay in Santiago was short a sweet, although it would have been shorter but our flight got delayed by a whole day. So we had lots of time to wonder the streets, parks and galleries. Alot of the city was on high alert ⚠ because of the ongoing protests, all the the buildings and monuments had been vandalised, either with graffiti with passionate, political statements or actually smashed! It was quite horrible to see how much the city had changed.. And could only imagine how it must have looked before. We still enjoyed the food and drink atleast, the good beer (from Chile, patagonia 😂😊🇨🇱) that was always a winner in our books 'Calafate Austral' that we tried back in Puerto Natales. Also the Pisco Sour was good, but obviously not as much as Perú (next adventure). The time we had went quickly, on our way out of Santiago we witnessed the riots starting back up, as we drove by the centre of protests we saw young adults and armed guards with batons and Shields clashing against each other, as the guards threw tear gas at the protesters the protesters threw them back... After that we saw 5 guards chase down a young guy, pin him to the ground and beat him! As the other young protesters ran for their lives. It was really tough to witness. Gladly though we got out to the airport with no problem.Les mer

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  • South America Backpacking Trip

    Lima Walking Tour

    19. desember 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Our short stay on Lima was in the historical centre (most tourists stay in the rich, and popular area of Miraflores) we opted to stay here because of the architecture and its we're the real Lima lives. We went on a free walking tour to learn about the history of the area we were staying in and rub shoulders with locals.. Lol... More on that later! 😂. The architecture was beautiful and built with the helpful hands of the Spanish in the 1500s colonial times (goes without saying because of the launguage). So a local tattoo artist called Alex took a shine to us after walking back from our tour, as we couldn't bring ourselves to say no, he walked us to his tattoo shop, through a local market (we were alittle worried this could be the end for us tbh) but we had nothing to fear, he talked to us in English after telling us about how he lived in Germany for a few years and we shared stories of Europe and our travels....all along trying to convince us to get a tattoo or piercing... Then he went to the obvious.. drug selling 😂 he told us straight up he had good grass (obviously from Germany...thats another story on how he got it here!) and baking powder, which you can guess as to the meaning! As peru boarders Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, Bolivia and Brazil, its a good gateway country he told us lol! Anyway we passed on the offers and carried on our way to the amazing magic light show in one of Lima's parks that they show every night, close to our hostel (the pictures will be on our next post!)😊😁Les mer

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  • South America Backpacking Trip

    Cusco Perú ... Feliz Navidad

    22. desember 2019, Peru ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Our arrival to Cusco was a slow one from Lima via bus, which took 24hrs, but we did this so we could adjust to the high altitude (3,400 feet above sea level) rather than flying ✈. Straight away we got out into the streets of the city, obviously taking it easy so our bodies could adjust. Its soo beautiful here with the cobbled roads and original Incan streets it doesn't feel like a big city at all. Its very touristy I may add but not at all a down point, as it feels safe and the locals are so friendly... And luckily speak quite good English. With it being Christmas here we spent Christmas eve celebrating local style, a nice meal out and walked around the Christmas markets. We couldn't let the tradition lie if buying each other a gift for Christmas day, so we decided to buy alittle something on the markets to surprise each other. So 2 of rules here to get a good priced gift is: be good at haggling, next rule speak good Spanish 😂😳 haha I tried but sure in the end I was ripped off lol... Oh well. We have a few trips planned to macchu pitchu in the coming days and also an amazon tour for after New year... So we will be spending new year here in Cusco whoop!😀🥂Les mer

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